After the bankruptcy of motorcycle manufacturer KTM, company meetings in the factories started today, Monday. A 14-person team from the insolvency department of the Upper Austrian Labor Chamber is on site at the factories in Mattighofen and Munderfing. According to initial investigations by restructuring manager Peter Vogl, operations are expected to continue.
About 3,600 employees are affected by the bankruptcy. Working meetings are scheduled until Wednesday at the three companies involved, KTM AG, KTM Components GmbH and KTM Forschungs & Entwicklung GmbH, which are scheduled to coincide with shifts and working hours.
The employees are informed about what a self-management restructuring process entails, that their employment relationships have not been terminated and “who pays what money,” explains Karoline Neumüller, head of the Chamber of Labor’s insolvency department.
AK submits applications for employees
November’s salary and Christmas bonus are to be paid from the bankruptcy compensation fund, while KTM plans to pay December wages this week. The task of the Chamber of Labor (AK) is to calculate and apply for claims from the Bankruptcy Fund for each individual employee. The applications are sent to the fund and the regional court, which forwards them to the three liquidators of the companies. They then check the applications for accuracy.
“If the trustees and the bankruptcy funds give their consent, we will be on time,” said Neumüller, who said it could take up to six weeks before the money is paid out. This means that a large part of the interest group’s work has been completed. As cancellations are announced, they must be processed and claims for termination verified.
The state of Upper Austria also wants to help
The state of Upper Austria also wants to develop support options in a roundtable discussion with social partners and the employment service (AMS), as Governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) announced on Friday evening. A specific date has not yet been announced.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
